Customer Reviews

Deathstalker 2

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great "B" movie. I rated it a 5, which i don't ever hand out to "B" movies, but as far as they go, this is one of the greatest. Obviously it can't compare with greats like BraveHeart and such, but you have to know what you're getting into before watching this.

I believe there are 4 Death Stalker movies. 1 and 4 try to be "serious", kind of like Conan rip-offs.... not real great. 2 and 3 go the more "humorous" route, with 3 failing pretty badly.

But Death Stalker 2 is GREAT! Adventure, comedy, action, slashing, and for those that like beautiful women in their movies, Monique Gabrielle doesn't disappoint!

Be ready for a cheesy movie, but it's fun cheesy! Lots of great (and bad) one-liners throughout. :)

One of the best of the 80's sword and scorcery movies, Deathstalker 2 still rules. It has everything: swordfights, an evil sorceror (is there any other kind?), swashbuckling action, semi-clad beauties and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that ties it all together.

For DS2 fans who have the VHS version and are wondering if the DVD version is worth buying: Yes! This version includes a feature-length audio commentary by director Jim Wynorski, Toni Naples (Sultana), and John Terlesky (Deathstalker himself) for behind-the-scenes information you didn't even know you wanted to know....

S&S B-movie fans in general and Deathstalker 2 fans in particular will want this movie.

Deathstalker II RULES!!!!
It's the best low-budget, comedy, fantasy T&A filled epic EVER.
But enough about the film, we all know that's great, onto the DVD.
The picture quality is fine, although it's best to turn the brightness up on your tv as it's quite dark(this isn't the DVD's fault I have a brighter VHS version but it just seems faded).
This is not cropped so you get to see the full picture, cars and spare tires too.
Audio, addiquate, gotta love that deathstalker II theme.
Extras:

The audio commentary is informative and funny, you really think this movie was fun to make, it has a trailer to.
Bad Points:
It would have been nice if this had had a multistream option like the T2 disc. So you could choose between the normal version and the Director's Cut. What this would mean is that the disc would skip the clips of DS1 and Barbarian Queen and the extra long fight footage to make it a more concise viewing experience. Although not having this option isn't worth dropping a star as you still get to see everything but have to skip the bits yourself. More out-takes would have been nice, but I guess you'll have to live with the ones in the credits.

This is my favorite of Monique's films (that I've seen) and I believe it is her personal favorite too. Filmed in Argentina which must have caused problems, the stark scenery is made up for by the large number of wisecracks in this sword and sorcery romp. Monique for once gets the chance to prove that she's more than just a sexy body, although there is a bit of that on view to keep her adoring fans happy. You also get two Moniques for the price of one here, which can't be bad. One is a petulant pouting prima donna of a princess (I bet she enjoyed playing that role!)- the other a chirpy perky peasant girl dashing about in skimpy buckskins. (That alone should be at least worth the cost of a rental!) The hero is suitably brawn without too many brains, as heros often are in these things. This could explain why he seems imune to Monique's charms - although in the end - well, if you haven't seen it I'd better let you find out for yourselves! There is a blooper section at the end and a catchy little theme tune which gets a gag during the film. There are plenty of quirky characters to keep fans of this genre engaged along the way.

Yeah, this is a sequel with nothing to do with the first one, and yeah, it's no Conan, but it doesn't try to be. Just remember who the writer/director is (the esteemed Jim Wynorski), take your mind off the hook, and go with it!

The premise (soldier of fortune helps a princess in disguise regain the throne)is classic, but it's all told with such a goofy tone that comparison with a more serious film is, well, goofy.

If you have the DVD edition with the director's commentary, you'll see where Wynorski was going when he made the film. The script is full of in-jokes from other movies in the genre, jokes from television, and more than enough one liners to fill a dozen old Bob Hope movies. You also get John LaZar (from Beyond the Valley Of The Dolls) as the evil sorcerer, Monique Gabrielle (of a zillion b-movies) as the damsel in distress, and Toni Naples in black leather as Sultana, who swings a mean sword.

Add to that a gazillion extras (all masked so they can be used over and over in other scenes), lots of wooden swords painted silver, a fight to the death with Queen Kong (featuring Amazon ring girls holding up the round number painted on cardboard). Yep friends and neighbors, this one leaves no cliché unheard. Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Genre fans won't be disappointed.

Simply a great DVD. This is personally my favorite movie in the Deathstalker series. It's worth it just for the excellent full-length commentary. The picture and sound transfer are very clear and sharp. There are also some added scenes, lost scenes and extended scenes not in the VHS versions. The movie length now clocks in at around 88 minutes in length.

From the moment, in the opening sequence, when Sultana's (the delicious Toni Naples) vow "I'll have my revenge - and Deathstalker too", heralds the title - "Deathstalker 2" on screen, accompanied by Chuck Cirino's amazing score, I fell totally in love with this movie! No sad Conan clone this!

Cult director Jim Wynorski has quite simply given us one of the most entertaining movies of all time.

The masterful casting of John Terleskey as our wisecracking hero and the gorgeous, scantily-clad Monique Gabrielle in her inspired double-role, ensures a whole laboratory of sexual chemistry between the highly picturesque duo. They also look like they're enjoying this bawdy romp no end!

The unprecedented amount of inspired one-liners, corny puns and cheeky verbal and visual references to other movies (most notably Spaghetti Westerns, Hammer Horror and Star Wars) demand repeat viewing to extract every delicious drop of Wynorsky's waggery.

The plot is a simple one - our eponymous hero (but is Deathstalker his first name or his last name?), promised a great reward, teams up with Evie the seer (Gabrielle), whose rightful position of princess has been taken by an evil clone of herself (evil Evie of course). Battling their way past zombies, pirates, and Amazon tribeswomen, Terleskey and Gabrielle never miss an opportunity to extract every potential bit of humour from each scenario. The other players join in the fun too - John La Zar, as evil wizard (is there any other kind?) Jerak warns Deathstalker that grave-robbing carries a stiff penalty in these parts, Sultana pokes fun at Evie's wardrobe (the Wilma Flintstone look) and pirate Chin (a tribute to Hawaii 5-O) and his hapless team are to bounty-hunting what the Archbishop of Canterbury is to bungee-jumping.

Scene follows glorious scene, my personal favourites being the initial punch-up in the tavern, evil Evie tiring of her musical dwarf playing nothing but the Deathstalker theme, Deathstalker's hilarious fight against the Amazon's champion and , of course, the final scene - when told that his heroic exploits will be reenacted for centuries to come, Deathstalker grins and says "Well, I sure hope they get a good looking guy to play me". What a parting shot!

There's no mistaking the miniscule budget here, and there's even some footage recycled from the (inferior) Deathstalker 1 and a couple of amusing inadvertent anachronisms and continuity errors. With a movie as refreshingly entertaining as this, who cares though?

The DVD contains the outtakes (the same as were also present during the end titles on the VHS version), the theatrical trailer and, delightfully, optional full-length commentary by Wynorsky, Terleskey and Naples. This is very very funny, and adds yet another dimension to the whole package, as Wynorsky flirts with Naples and points out anachronisms, such as a tyre visible as our heroes ride past.

For potential UK purchasers, make sure your DVD player is multi-region, as this is only available as Region 1 (NTSC). My copy took around 10 days to arrive from the States. At this price, Deathstalker 2 has to be the DVD bargain of the century!

You will either think it is brilliant or complete garbage! I am convinced that most viewers with a sense of fun, will decide it is the former.

Due to some for of nostalgia, I have been on a recent kick of searching for all the 80's Sword and Sorcery movies as of late. My favorite rediscovery so far (Excluding the Conan films because their budgets were too high) was Deathstalker II. This movie has absolutely EVERYTHING you could ever want in a movie: Violence and Bloodshed, Amazons, T&A, cheesy one liners, and is excessively degrading to women. In the sequel, Deathstalker isn't some muscle-man, just some guy with a sword. He's not ripped, in fact he's got a bit of a gut (just a bit) which adds to the realism of the movie, except when it is all ripped away by the extras such as Ivan the terrible's henchmen expelled for excessive brutality sitting alongside one of Atilla the hun's former soldiers. The Pig-headed warrior also makes a return cameo, and a cheesy score that Manowar would be proud of. infuriate your girlfriend by getting this movie! Now its on DVD. I have died and gone to Valhalla....

One can only think that Sam Raimi is a fan of this movie as he seems to have copied much of the camp from this film. Once the camp has been removed, Deathstalker II is mostly a collection of clips lifted from the first movie.

Deathstalker is out plying his thieving trade when he happens on a seer who seems to be more trouble than she is worth. You know the tone of the film when the seer asks him if Deathstalker is his first or last name.

What plot there is consists of Deathstalker being convinced to help the seer return to her throne, one occupied by a sorcerous double.

Along the way we get profession wrestling with a giant Amazon, the attack of the shuffling zombies, plenty of scenes from the first movie, lots of bad jokes, anachronisms galore, heaps of nudity, and a few truckloads of camp.

As this was not the serious film that the first was, it is more successful in its goal. Just imagine a Bruce Campbell King of Thieves movie (except most of the wisecracks come from the seer) and you will get an idea of what to expect. It's fun. Really.

A horrible movie that's actually a lot of fun. I never heard of the "Detahstalker" straight-to-video franchise before this flick, but enjoyed it anyway. Long after cut-rate foreign studios mined the Conan-genre dry, "Deathstalker" was still trodding the sands of swords&sandals territory with cheap production values, dumb-gags and nonexistent scripts.

Story? Deathstalker, free-booting adventurer, steps in to save the life of the impoverished Reena, a fortuneteller marked for death by angry customers (she foretells the birth of children to men other than husbands). Reena, as it turns out, is a princess deposed by Jarek the sorcerer. In her place, Jarek has installed Reena's magically-created clone - but the process that created the clone won't allow Jarek to kill the original. There's also Sultana, a warrior who's as beautiful as she is fiercely insistent to...

Oh, does it matter what it's about? You'll probably forget about it two minutes after your player has spat the tape out. (Did somebody make this available on DVD?) However, "Deathstalker" is one of those flicks that taps into its own flaws in a good way. Much like the story and the main character, "Deathstalker" seems like a good-natured relic of a lost age, never really following any path other than that that provides some (cheap) thrills. Nowhere near as poorly solemn as the "Ator" movies, nor as just misguided as "Barbarians", "Deathstalker" is a movie you just know is junk, yet one you can sit through. The best thing here is John Lazar (that's right - "Z-man" is back, and he's handy-as-ever with a sword!!) hamming it up as the evil Jarek.